An endangered fin whale that washed up near a coastal trail in Alaska’s largest city has attracted curious onlookers while biologists seek answers as to what caused the animal’s death.

Crowd forms on Alaskan beach after giant whale carcass washes ashore - An endangered fin whale that washed up near a coastal trail in Alaska’s largest city has attracted curious onlookers while biolog

The carcass was found Saturday night along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, near the mouth of Fish Creek and just south of Westchester Lagoon. Biologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been examining the animal — a young female, judging from its size and appearance.

Biologists say the whale, believed to be a young female, was first reported Saturday lying on mudflats near a popular trail.

In 2016, a dead fin whale showed up in Seward on the bow of a cruise ship. In the summer of the same year, a 60-foot fin whale was stranded close to the Port of Anchorage and then was found dead in another spot on the upper Knik Arm. Scientists weren’t sure why that whale died.

An endangered fin whale washed ashore near Anchorage, Alaska, capturing the curiosity of locals while biologists investigate its death. The 47-foot female whale, estimated to be between 1 and 3 years old,